Damon Jones pleads guilty in sweeping NBA gambling and poker probe

Damon Jones, a former Cleveland Cavaliers guard and later an assistant coach with the Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers, pleaded guilty in Brooklyn federal court to two wire fraud conspiracy counts in separate cases, becoming the first defendant to admit guilt in a widening sports-betting and poker investigation.

Prosecutors said Jones used non-public injury and lineup information from NBA teams, players and coaches to help profit from illegal betting. They also said he took part in a nationwide scheme to rig illegal poker games. The Justice Department said the combined loss amount in the two cases tops $10 million, underscoring how insider access was turned into a betting edge and then into criminal proceeds.

The plea came against the backdrop of an investigation that has swept up current and former NBA figures, alleged fixers and organized-crime figures. Federal authorities announced the broader NBA gambling case on October 23, 2025, when six defendants were charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy tied to non-public NBA injury and lineup information. Jones’s admission marked the first guilty plea in that case.

The same investigative effort also reached college basketball. On January 15, 2026, prosecutors announced charges against 26 people in an alleged bribery and point-shaving scheme targeting NCAA Division I men’s basketball and Chinese Basketball Association games. Federal prosecutors said fixers recruited players to underperform and paid bribes that usually ranged from $10,000 to $30,000 per game.

Taken together, the cases show how quickly sports gambling has spread into corners of the game where confidential information is most valuable and least protected. Private locker-room updates, medical details and lineup changes can move betting markets within minutes, while the college case showed how vulnerable lower-profile players can be to cash offers tied to individual games. The FBI led the investigations with help from the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Eastern Districts of New York and Pennsylvania.

Jones apologized in court, and the guilty plea gives prosecutors a public marker in a probe they say is designed to protect the integrity of American sports and legitimate betting markets. The scale of the case suggests the industry’s expansion has outpaced the safeguards meant to keep inside information, wagering operators and the games themselves from colliding.